Public smoking pollutes air
The researchers found that if you stand next to someone smoking at a bus stop, you'll be exposed to fine particulate pollution 16 times higher than the background level. Image: paulprescott72/iStockphoto A study by the University of Otago, Wellington has found that smoking on city street footpaths increases the amount of dangerous fine particulates in city air.The five week long study by public health researchers used a sensitive air monitor to measure air quality in the Lower Hutt shopping centre as they passed 284 people who were smoking on the footpaths.They found that when smokers were observed, at an average distance of 2.6 metres, there was an average 70% more fine particulates in the air (PM2.5 or less than 2.5mm in diameter) than when there were no smokers around.When standing next to a smoker at a bus stop, the mean fine particulate pollution level was 16 times the background level, with a...